The Piper Plays the Tune
by piperijanayalex
Summary: How special can a sixteen year old girl be? What if she was a genius? A telepath? What if she could manipulate matter itself? What then? The past of this sixteen year old is full of horror and misery, but can it help her save everything she cares about?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avengers, no matter how much I want to...Santa didn't bring them this year...just like he didn't bring me Harry Potter last year...**

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**The Piper Plays the Tune**

Piper landed lightly on her feet after the 25 foot drop off the roof of the dilapidated building. After glancing quickly left and right down the alleyway, she snuck swiftly around the corner and through a broken door placed over a ragged hole in the brick wall.

Several other teenagers lounged in the old warehouse room-turned- home. They looked up as Piper entered and nodded in greeting, some calling out. The room was covered in blankets and pillows to sprawl on and converse with friends. Of the two rooms in the back, one was a makeshift kitchen and the other was filled with mats and blankets for the gang to sleep on at night.

Piper picked her way around the prone fingers and toes of the others and climbed a ladder to her usual position on the beams of the ceiling. A boy, about eighteen, caught her eye from across the room. He leaned against the counter – a wooden board placed on two crates – with a drink in hand.

_"Something hold you up?"_ he asked, meeting her eyes.

Piper raised an eyebrow and looked away, surveying the room. _"What do you mean, Alec? I'm back early today." _She narrowed her eyes, glancing his way again. _"Why?"_

Alec shrugged, turning away to refill his drink from a root beer gallon behind him. _"Nothing."_

Piper sent him a feeling that said 'yeah right'. _"Alec, do I need to give you every reason why it is obviously not __**nothing**__? We've known each other for almost twelve years and I know you like the back of my hand. This is most unlike you."_

Alec grimaced in his thoughts_. "Well…." _He faced Piper again_. "Two agents came here today…looking for a certain Piperijanay. I don't know how they found this place, but- "_

_"Just show me."_ Piper's expression grew grim and dark, her skin turning white at the mention of the name.

There was a pause and Piper felt the memory pathway open. Closing her eyes, she let it wash over her.

* * *

She was Alec in the memory, at his post. He was the lookout for anyone approaching the gang, be it enemy gangs, cops, or madmen. Now, it was agents.

They came up as if they were meant to be here and called out to him. "Alec Germaine Wheeler!"

How they knew his full name was beyond him at the moment, but Alec appeared from his hiding place among a fallen building and greeted them, if not very politely.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded, hostile in every word and look.

The two of them, dressed in nice suits and armed, ignored the question. "We are looking for Piperijanay. The leader of your gang. Where is she?"

Alec was puzzled at the name. "Who?"

"You know her as Piper. Where is she?"

Alec smiled and shrugged. "Don't know her."

"Tell her to go to the Stark Tower and 9:00 am sharp. We'll meet her there." The smaller of the two ordered. "And I suggest that she should come. It would be good for everyone involved."

They left without another word, a very concerned and confused Alec behind staring after them.

* * *

Piper started a little as the memory ended and she came back to herself. In real-time, it had only lasted an instant, but she felt as if she had been with Alec for all those minutes.

_"Now what are you going to do?"_ Alec's thought-voice came through again.

Piper sighed, closing her eyes. _"I don't know yet, Alec."_ She changed the subject. _"How's Maggie?"_ Piper looked once again at Alec.

He tipped his head to the left and she followed his gaze. Piper's eyes and face visibly softened.

A little girl, maybe six or seven, lay among pillows and blankets, listening to a story one of the older kids were telling her. She had blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a cheery demeanor. She was Piper's greatest love. Piper would do anything for her, even if it meant dying. Maggie laughed, played, and loved like the innocent child she was. But she was being killed every day. She had an unknown disease that caused malaise, hemorrhaging, and fever.

_"How was today for her? No episodes of fever?"_ Piper asked her best friend.

_"A good day."_

Piper sighed again. If she went to the agents tomorrow, it might mean leaving her huge family behind….and that was all she had ever really cared about.

_"I'm going to bed. If I see you tomorrow, I'll tell you my decision." _Piper sent the thought before closing the line. '_If I make one.' _She thought silently to herself.

* * *

"Why do we want her again?" Director Nick Fury asked his top agent. "She is sixteen, the head of a streetgang, and has no formal training or schooling. Why is she special?"

"Sir, in truth, she is no ordinary streetgirl. Piperijanay is an almost truly perfect human. She is capable of using her full brain capacity, making her the smartest person on the planet and giving her incredible abilities." The agent informed him.

The Director leaned forward. "I'm listening."

"Piperijanay had a form of the supersoldier serum injected into her as a child, and was genetically enhanced for more efficient use of her senses. Her known abilities include telepathy, telekinesis, and she appears able to manipulate matter."

"How do we know this?" Nick Fury inquired forcefully.

"She was a science experiment. Her original creators were all killed by her but they kept records of her. And there is still more that we don't know."

"Bring her in." came the affirmation.

* * *

**Many thanks to all who took the time to read this and I just realized that it must have been a very confusing read, because it wasn't separated as I had had it. Sorry about that! this makes much more sense! Please Read & Review and Follow & Favorite! PiperijanayAlex, out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two Disclaimer: I do not own Avengers...yet...*mischevious glance***

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The next morning, at 8:30, Alec woke to find Piper's usual sleeping place empty and Piper nowhere to be seen. He sighed and lay back down again. '_What is she getting into now?'_ he thought, worry for her needling him. With a shake of his head, Alec rolled to his feet and went to tell the others.

* * *

Piper hid in the shadows two blocks down from the Stark Tower. She analyzed the people around her for possible agents trying to capture her. Piper's incredible eyesight allowed her to see the faces of the pedestrians walking by the tower and to check for weapons or earpieces – the signs of an agent. With a last glance at her watch, Piper began the walk to the rendezvous.

Her nature kept her from walking in the plain daylight, so Piper stayed in the shadows of pillars, overhangs, and trees along her path. Across the street from the entrance to the tower, she scanned once more for hostiles, anything remotely dangerous. Finding none, Piper checked the time. 8:59.

With one last deep breath, she crossed the street and stopped in front of the billionaire's glass doors.

One door opened and an agent from Alec's memory – the smaller man – exited.

"Welcome, Ms. Piperijanay. Please come inside." He invited, holding the door for the wary, potentially lethal girl.

Piper paled at the mention of her full name. "It's just Piper."

"I am Agent Coulson."

"With who? What agency?" Piper interjected, taking a step back to show her refusal.

"Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division. Or S.H.I.E.L.D." he replied.

Piper kept her expression unreadable, hiding the confusion she felt. '_What does an agency like that want with me?'_

"Will you please come in so we can talk, Ms. Piper? I assure you that I will not use force, nor will any of the agents in S.H.I.E.L.D., or allied agencies."

Piper took a literal second to think over what Agent Coulson had just told her. He had said that, in essence, nobody controlled or in league with S.H.I.E.L.D. will hurt or force her to do anything.

She nodded slightly and brushed past him on her way into the lobby of the Stark Tower. How out of place she looked, a dirty streetgirl inside a perfectly maintained billionaire's lobby.

"Sit down." Agent Coulson led her to a glass table with two couches arranged on either side.

Piper did so, her bright green eyes never leaving the suited man. Her main weapon in keeping on top was her silence.

Agent Coulson produced a thick file from his jacket and laid it on the table, pushing it her way. When Piper didn't take it, he spoke again. "We have an international situation on our hands, and we thought you could help us."

"We?"

"Director Nick Fury and I." he answered.

Piper leaned back on her sofa, a cold, thin smile on her sharply-planed face. "Me? I am just a gang leader. How could I possibly help a top-secret agency?"

Coulson smiled, fake or not she couldn't tell. "You are far more than just a gang leader. You were part of an I.I.L. experiment. You have a serum in your circulatory system that makes you at least twice as strong as a pro wrestler."

The color drained from Piper's face at the mention of the I.I.L. and her knuckles turned white from gripping the sofa's arm so tightly.

The agent continued. "You have the abilities of telepathy and telekinesis, an -"

"You know a good bit about me, sure, but why would I help you?!" Piper cut him off, her control at breaking point. She stood up, fighting to maintain composure. "How do I know that I won't become somebody's lab rat again?"

Coulson rose as well, wary now. Piper was extremely dangerous, and now she was also agitated. "We could help your gang. Provide food, safety….anything they need."

Piper hesitated bit. The gang was her life. She had taken the kids in to give them a home and a safe place from the rough life of the street. If S.H.I.E.L.D. would help them, Piper would do anything they asked.

"We can procure the best medical supplies for Magdalene Winter and help in any possible way."

Piper couldn't say no to that. She would do it for Maggie. She would do anything for Maggie.

After a pause, Piper gave her answer to the waiting agent. "Fine."

Coulson smiled briefly, pulling out a pre-made contract with a place to sign her on. It said exactly what the agent had and Piper signed:

**_Piper_**

Agent Coulson handed her the file on their way out of the lobby. "This is for you, Ms. Piper. I'll brief you on the way."

Piper nodded, thinking to herself. _'Get it together, Piper.' _She shook Coulson's proffered hand.

He smiled again. "A car will take you to an air base and I'll meet you there….Ms. Piper. Thanks for joining us."

Piper sighed, raising her eyes to the sky. "Anything for my team and my girl. Anything for them."

The agent laid a hand on her shoulder before going back inside the tower.

Piper raised an eyebrow at the black sedan she was to be riding in. "Guess I get to travel in style now." She murmured to herself before climbing in.

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**Hello, everyone! This is my first fanfiction, and I want to thank ginnytwin95 (Go Harry Potter! Love the books myself), The Ginger Midget, and TheMostRandomOfWriters for following my story! Please Read & Review and Follow & Favorite! PiperijanayAlex, out!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or any Marvel Characters. I only own my Ocs. Sadly...:(**

The drive to the airbase was boring, to say the least. The driver and the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in the car tried to get her to talk, but Piper refused to speak a word. She was still slightly unnerved and needed time to think. The drive provided the perfect time to think and to read the file.

Apparently, there was an item called the Tesseract that could be used as a never-ending supply of energy for the world. Piper had felt it a few days ago, a surge of energy so great it almost knocked her unconscious. But it had been stolen. That unlimited power was going to be used as a weapon.

She was asked to be a part of the Avengers Initiative, a group of supernatural people consisting of Steve Rogers, Thor, Bruce Banner, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton.

Piper knew Captain America, very well. The serum injected into her was a version of the original one used on him. She despised the Captain bitterly for having taken the serum and becoming famous with it. Without that, she would never have been subjected to the agony of being infused with the injection.

Tony Stark, or Ironman, was known to her as well. Thor, she had heard of through Norse Mythology, and Bruce Banner was the Hulk.

Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton were more interesting in their anonymity. She read their whole file and felt a connection to them. They led the kind of life she used to, before-

_'Don't think about that. It never works.'_ She stopped herself. Some parts of her past Piper couldn't go to, so intense and painful was her reaction.

Sighing, the girl closed the file and gazed out of the window. Looking ahead, she focused her eyes on the airbase, about five miles out and ten minutes away.

When they arrived, the two agents in the car profusely wished her good-bye and thanked her for riding with them. Though she didn't know it, Piper already had quite the reputation with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. They thought she was a ruthless assassin, deadly and silent, but a few had heard of the gang she had sworn to protect. Those few spread the rumor around that she was made to protect the Earth and those who couldn't protect themselves. To the agents, Piperijanay was their guardian angel.

A quinjet was waiting for her with another unexpected passenger: the one and only Captain America. He stood with his back to Piper, studying the jet with a mixture of doubt and wonder. As she stalked silently beside him, the captain spoke to her.

"How did they ever come up with this technology? I don't know whether or not to trust such things."

Piper didn't answer, but stepped in front of him slightly so that he could see who he was talking to.

Captain America stepped back, obviously surprised. "What are you doing here, Miss? This is a restricted airbase."

Piper raised an eyebrow, her gaze cold. "I work with S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain Rogers. I was told to be here."

Cap. Rogers frowned. "S.H.I.E.L.D. uses fourteen year old girls as agents? Is that legal?"

Piper bit back a sharp retort. "I'm sixteen. And I'm not an agent. I'm helping out S.H.I.E.L.D."

Piper did look younger than her actual age, but only in stature. She was 5'9" and lean. The only curves she had came from muscles. In her face, she looked many years older than her actual years. Normally, her eyes were hard and indifferent. They were a holly green with gold flecks and always filled with a perpetual sadness and wariness. Piper stayed alive by trusting no one. Her hair was dark brown and cut raggedly around her face. She had scars all over her body as proof that she was a fighter.

The captain dipped his head in apology. "Sorry, ma'am." He held out his hand. "The name is Steve Rogers."

Piper raised her eyebrow again, before taking his large hand lightly with her smaller one. "Piper."

He nodded, and she turned to board the quinjet. Agent Coulson was waiting inside.

"Piper, I see you've met Captain America." He greeted her.

"Wonderful." She replied blandly, taking seat in the corner of the jet.

The captain came aboard as well and with Coulson, he began to go over the files. They talked awhile, and Piper listened with a level of her mind.

For Piper, thinking was on levels. She could multi-task incredibly well; doing one thing with one level of her brain and another with a wholly different section. This was what it was like to use your whole brain. It was true that she could manipulate matter. It only took some of her concentration, depending on the height of manipulation.

So Piper was hearing all about Coulson's love for Captain America, while she was also thinking about the whole 'Loki' problem and worrying about the gang without her.

A comment from the captain caught her attention. "So this Dr. Banner was trying to replicate the serum that was used on me?"

Agent Coulson answered him, with a glance at Piper. "A lot of people were. You were the world's first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula."

Steve studied the video playing on the tablet on his lap. "Didn't really go his way, did it?"

"Only one other formula has ever been created that acted like yours, captain. With added extras, of course." Piper put in, speaking for the first time.

Steve leaned forward, confusion written on his face. "Then why isn't this person on Avengers Initiative too? Did something go wrong?"

Piper laughed bitterly. "Oh, something went wrong alright. The person killed every single person who knew about the serum and almost died trying to get it removed."

"Who was this person?" The captain asked, horror growing on his face.

Piper looked Captain America directly in his blue eyes. "Me. Because while you might have wanted to be injected, you gave others the idea to try it on other people who wanted nothing of it."

Steve leaned back with disgust for her clearly in his eyes. "You killed innocent people?"

Piper's eyes watered at the memories. "They weren't innocent, Captain. Do you know what they did to me? The torture, the…the pain?" she turned away from them. "They made me the monster I am."

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**Thank you ginnytwin95 for reviewing and BloodBlackAlchemist (cool name!) for following! Saphem, thank you for favoriting AND following (gotta do it all!) Please REVIEW everyone and tell me what you like or dislike! I don't bite!...Hard... Well, anyway, please Read & Review and Follow & Favorite! **

**Piperijanayalex, out!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four Disclaimer: I'll own the Avengers when pigs fly...hmmm, good idea...(a.k.a. I don't own Avengers)**

* * *

When the quinjet landed, Piper instantly started scanning every person's mind for possible enemies and to learn everything she could about S.H.I.E.L.D. She had refused to do this to her drivers or Coulson, because they might get into trouble for it, if anyone ever found out they had given away agency secrets. No matter how much say they had in it.

In a few seconds, Piper had learned where they were. The jet had landed on a 'helicarrier' or a flying aircraft carrier. Soon, the helicarrier would be taking off.

Upon exiting the aircraft, Piper was met with a young red haired woman – Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. the Black Widow, according to everyone else's thoughts about her.

"Welcome Cap, Coulson." She turned to Piper. "And…?"

"Piper."

"Pleasure to meet you." Natasha replied to Piper's rather brusque answer.

The spy faced Agent Coulson and murmured something about going to Fury. Piper surveyed the close edge of the helicarrier uneasily. Water had always been an issue since her dr-

_'Don't go there.'_ She stopped herself from making a grave mistake.

Natasha strode in front of the two new arrivals. "So, Captain America. There was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?"

"Trading cards?" the captain asked in disbelief.

"They're vintage, he's very proud." Natasha responded teasingly. With a glance at Piper, she spoke again. "What about you, Piper? How are you gonna help us?"

Piper shrugged, her expression closed. "I can do most things physically possible for men and many things that are not." She stared challengingly at the spy. Anyone probing into her personal information was enough to make her incensed. "So don't ask me."

Natasha flashed a questioning look at Steve, who only shrugged helplessly. "Like what kind of things?"

Piper swung to stop directly in front of the spy, intent on showing the agent just what she could do easily. Already, Piper had picked an important item from Natasha's mind and was knowing it. Learning it. Then she made the air molecules, the matter, in front of her condense into the object. It was a picture of a little redhead girl with her parents, framed with fake gold and black wood. Piper handed it to the startled agent and turning on her heel, she stalked off.

Natasha stood staring numbly after the retreating girl, before lowering her gaze to the picture. It was her….and her parents. This picture had been taken so long ago, she hardly remembered it. '_How did that girl know about it?'_

"Ma'am? Agent Romanoff?" The captain prompted.

She shook herself. "Have you met Dr. Banner?" she asked, changing the subject. "He's right over there." She pointed out a gray haired man with glasses coming out of another quinjet.

Steve noticed the change in subject, but he didn't push it. The two headed over. "Dr. Banner."

Dr. Banner turned to see them coming. "Oh, yeah. Hi. They told me you'd be coming."

Steve shook hands with him. "Word is you can find the cube."

Bruce huffed a bit. "Is that the only word on me?"

Steve smiled easily. "Only word I care about."

* * *

Piper used information from the others on the deck and on her way to find the path to the bridge. With this info, she also built a map of the facility in her head. The bridge itself was incredible, but she wasn't given enough time to look around before a deep voice spoke her name.

"Piperijanay. Pleasure to meet you." Piper stiffened at the name and turned to see a black man with an eyepatch at the main platform. "Where is your escort? Agent Romanoff?"

Piper found the man's mind to be extremely hard to navigate, but she found his name. "Director Nick Fury. It's just Piper." She spun slowly to scour the room with her focused glare. "I don't need to be shown around."

"I'm glad you agreed to help us." Fury spoke deliberately, trying to measure her character.

"I did it for my people." Piper confronted the man again. "I'll do anything for them. That's why I'm here."

The Director nodded slowly, studying the slight girl in front of him. "I know." He jerked his head at one of the agents on the bridge. "We have a room where you can get cleaned up. Agent Hoffman will show you to it."

Piper interrupted. "I know where it is."

Fury narrowed his eye at her. "How?"

She smiled, but it held no amusement or warmth. "I thought you knew my abilities. Take a guess." She whirled and began towards her room….heading the right way.

Fury dismissed the agent, shaking his head. _'She reads minds very efficiently. She'll be the first against Loki when we get him.' _He decided, then turning his attention to the screens before him.

Piper found her room and cleaned herself up, changing into a specially made uniform for her, consisting of black Swiss army pants and a black tank top. Her black combat boots now held two knives each and her belt could carry two guns with bullets to reload. Her forearms were covered by her own personal protection: leather pads wrapped around them and the palms of her hands. Without the grime on her face and the ratty clothes, Piper looked very lethal and deadly.

She sat on the floor with her legs crossed in front of her, palms flat to the cold surface. Piper was converging her energy to its highest potential and fully unlocking her abilities. To live in the city, Piper had to tone down her energy output. Living in the world was dangerous when she was an immense energy keeper.

When Piper opened her normally dark eyes again, they were a luminous, vibrant green – a visible sign of her potency and power.

* * *

**Thank you again ginnytwin95 for reviewing and also to Lady Syndra who REALLY wanted me to update! XD! Thank you slushytwin9511 for following and Everyone who even read through my story! If you are reading this, you deserve a medal! But sadly I have none...**

**Please review *makes puppy dog eyes* and tell me how I'm doing. I fangirl everytime I get a review! **

**For Harry Potter lovers, check out ginnytwin95's awesome fanfic, '****_Lily's Daughter?'. _****It's beyond awesome!**

**Please Read & Review and Follow & Favorite! Thank you all!**

**Piperijanayalex, out!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine. Even the semi-flying pig didn't work.**

* * *

Piper re-entered the bridge as Agent Coulson was explaining how they were going to find Loki.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

"That's still not gonna find them in time." Natasha stated, stooping to scan a screen.

Dr. Banner turned to Director Fury. "You have to narrow the field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"You won't need them." Piper interjected, arriving unnoticed. "I can find him much faster and more precisely."

Dr. Banner advanced on her. "How? That's the fastest way there is." His face screwed up in confusion. "Who **are **you?"

Piper's bright eyes- much like the Hulk's – flashed angrily and she had to bite back a cutting retort. "Doctor, -"

The director cut her off. "How, Piper?!"

The girl pivoted to Fury. "If I can access a memory of a person, to feel them through it, I can find them no matter where they are in the world. But I need a memory." She glanced around the room. "Has anyone met Loki and will give me the memory of it?"

Captain Rogers stepped forward from his place at the table. "How can you do that? Even I know it's impossible by today's standards."

Piper set her mouth in a hard line and fought for her focus. "I'm a telepath, OK? I can do that."

"Then how did you do that little trick earlier, with the picture? That wasn't telepathy." Natasha demanded, challenging the girl.

"Unimportant at the moment." Piper deflected the question. She confronted the director once again. "What about that memory now?"

The Director nodded slowly, weighing his options. "I met him. You can look at it."

"Just replay the memory in your mind." Piper ordered, beginning to probe Fury's mind.

He did so, and all the while Piper was just staring at the floor. It took a few moments of everyone watching silently before she said. "That's enough. My turn now. This may take a few minutes."

Piper took a seat around the table and closed her eyes, letting her mind-sight take her farther from the helicarrier. It took a few moments to adjust to hearing every single person's thoughts and feeling their auras. Thereafter, she centered on Loki's aura, on sorting through the chaos to a single being. It took two minutes for her.

When Piper opened her eyes again, she found the director, Natasha, Cap. Rogers, Agent Coulson, and Dr. Banner seated at the table, all staring at her. "Stuttgart, Germany. Or that's his destination at this time."

The captain huffed skeptically. "You sure?"

Piper nodded tightly, her anger releasing an invisible ripple of energy from her for an instant. The others felt it like an electric shock. Another glare from the girl warned them all not to make her mad. "He is traveling with several mercenaries and two of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s own." Her eyes hazed for a second, then cleared. "A certain Dr. Selvig and a….Hawk? I can't get too far into his mind. Its….twisted beyond belief."

Natasha stiffened. "Hawkeye? Was that it?"

Piper hesitated. "Yes." She confirmed. "He wants an eye." She paused. "Eye, iridium, blue….what is all this?" she began to pace, puzzlement written all over her features.

"All of what?" Director Fury inquired, asking the question they all were thinking.

"All of the junk in this guy's mind! It's like there are two sides to him, but only one is actually his….One side is fighting, while the other needs an eye…"she trailed off.

Natasha's skin was as white as snow at this point. "Ma'am, are you alright?" Steve leaned over to speak privately with her. Natasha jerked her head in the closest thing her rigid muscles could come to a nod. Steve pulled himself back upright in his seat, concern and confusion ruling at the moment.

"An eye?" Dr. Banner laughed.

Piper's confusion cleared. "To open a door. It has an eye sensor. He wants iridium from inside it." Her gaze swept over them all. "And there is a billionaire who lives in Stuttgart that has the largest supply of iridium in the world."

Agent Coulson looked to the director. "Sir?"

The Director nodded. "Captain, you're up."

The captain stood. "Yes, sir." He left without another word, Natasha and Coulson right behind him.

The director, Piper and Bruce remained at the table.

Director Fury studied them. "You're staying here. Do what you want." He strode out, Piper gaping incredulously at his retreating form. '_I do all of that to stay behind?'_

Banner stared at Piper, who glared at him with extraordinarily bright green eyes. "A telepath, huh?"

Piper rose suddenly. "Yeah." She hissed, before stalking towards her room.

* * *

**Well, she is pissed. Poor Avengers, they'll never know what hit them. **

**I have made a deal with myself that everytime I get a future chapter done, I will update on the most recent chapter. Lucky for you guys, I finished one right now!**

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**A very cool fanfic I want to promote is '_That Which Wanders Is Unaware'_ by morgianesff. Its a Loki/OC fic, and a very well-written one! Check it out!**

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**PiperijanayAlex, out!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avengers...more's the pity...**

* * *

Piper checked all of her weapons and once again converged all of her energy to its height. She was going to get Loki too. Piper didn't want to be here, didn't want to help, but she was, so she wanted to do everything. Not get blown off by people who thought they were too good for her.

Piper controlled the matter around her to refract the light and render her invisible. That was how she would sneak onto the quinjet. Once aboard, Piper planned on hiding herself from their minds, so they didn't process that they were seeing her and effectively kept her just as invisible. Piper would have done the same on the way to the quinjet, but it took more focus because of the large number of people and there was a greater risk of error.

It was especially hard to navigate the journey to the jet without bumping into people and knocking things over. Piper was right outside the quinjet when she was forced to take cover behind stacked crates full of supplies. The director had almost discovered her by trampling the poor girl.

"Coulson!" Fury called into the quinjet, looking for his best operative.

"Sir?" the agent exited the craft, glancing around.

Director Fury lowered his voice and got right to the point. "Piper, what do you think of her?" his one eye fixed on Coulson.

Piper was listening intently. Any information with where she stood with the authority was welcome, especially if they didn't know she had it.

Coulson responded immediately. "I trust her."

Piper blinked in surprise. What had ever made him **trust** her?

"For what reason?" his boss demanded, impatient.

"She came because she wanted to protect her team, her gang. She is so loyal, she would die rather than give them up." the agent paused. "That loyalty is hard to find, especially in such an abused girl. And I know that while it's hard for her to trust many people, we can trust her. Like how even though Stark hates working with us, we know he'll do it if it's the right thing."

Piper pondered what he had just said about her. It was all true, now that she thought about it. _'Maybe I __**do**__ matter to them. Maybe I need to do this for everyone, not just because it beneficial to me.'_ She realized. Without knowing it, Coulson had just turned around her attitude about the whole situation. His trust made her stronger and more willing to do what was needed of her.

The director hesitated before speaking again. "I'll trust you on this one, Coulson. It was your idea to bring her on anyways." He turned to head back to the bridge.

"Sir?" Coulson called once more.

Fury regarded his agent from over his shoulder. He nodded for him to continue.

"Give the girl a chance. She deserves it after everything she's been through."

Director Fury dipped his head in acknowledgment and finally left.

Piper remained where she was, shocked and surprised by Coulson's insight and apparent respect for her. It was new to the girl and not particularly unpleasant. Piper was startled out of her thoughts by the approaching sound of voices….belonging to Natasha and the Captain.

Haste was of the essence, and Piper hurried to board the jet and acquired her hiding position – the parachute apartment. Hopefully no one would reach for a parachute and grab an invisible person instead. From the corner of the compartment, she could see and hear everything said, while staying undetected.

As Piper had suspected, the team had boarded silently and sat in their respective places, anticipation filling the air. The tension was almost visible in the way no one spoke, and didn't even look at each other. _'All nervous, I bet.' _ Piper almost chuckled, unaware she was feeling quite the same way.

Thankfully, it didn't take long to reach their destination and an interesting sight greeted them when the team did arrive. Loki was standing before the crowd of people at the billionaire's party, having them kneel.

Piper searched with her mind for the Hawk, the one who was actually running the errand. He was already inside the building housing the iridium. His energy levels were very high and **blue** again. She still didn't know what the blue meant.

Back to Loki, he was preparing to murder the one man brave enough to stand against him, as old as he was. The captain would be jumping out of the quinjet, and Piper was going with him. But she wouldn't be dealing with Loki.

Piper's injection of serum kept her from harming herself upon landing, but her attention slipped just enough that her 'invisibility' faded. Well, she didn't need that anyway.

Piper took off running even as she heard the captain's confused "Piper?" behind her. She had to stop the Hawk from retrieving that metal.

His energy came from a half-mile north and had already gained access to the warehouse. Piper raced as fast as she could, as quickly as she ever had, and reached the repository in a little over two minutes. She was almost too late.

The Hawk had three lackeys with him, but they were waiting outside for him to retrieve the iridium. Apparently, the men were not trusted to be present.

Piper made the quick decision to wipe out the retainers before Hawk appeared – so as to give her full attention to the very confusing mass of energy he was in her mind.

Piper found it very easy to kill someone. She could control matter, and to destroy someone, all you had to do was pinch a certain nerve in the brain and they were gone. Very easy to do, but not without consequences. In reading minds, Piper felt that person. She knew that person and understood them - and then killed them. It took a huge toll on her emotionally.

The men were in an arrowhead formation. Piper launched herself out of her temporary ambush position and took out the first man with a touch – through which she had pushed out a charge of energy so great it scorched his whole nervous system.

The next, having now figured that she was an attacker, was not to be caught off guard like that of his comrade. He barreled towards her, arms outstretched to tackle her. Piper seized one of his arms and ducked underneath it. The man tripped forward with his momentum and the second he was down, she kicked his head to knock him unconscious.

The last and third was also the easiest – Piper dissolved his spinal cord, effectively killing him.

The energy she had used to disable the first and last men had left her slightly out of breath and gave her the burning sensation. The sensation was from the molecules of her body heating up to produce more energy – heat is energy she could use – but if used too much could also lead to spontaneous combustion. But Piper had no time to leach the dying energy from the two dead men and borrow some from the unconscious one. The Hawk had arrived.

Pier could read energy levels, or auras, because they were just like the person's mind. Another extension of their body. But the Hawk's aura was….at war with itself. On one side was a brown, gray, and orange mix and on the other was a massive, roiling blue mess with more energy than Piper could ever hope to muster at one time. The same with his mind.

The Hawk announced himself with an arrow in Piper's shoulder - not very lethal, but incredibly painful. She found him at once, hiding in the shadows of the door to the storeroom. He advanced upon her with inhuman speed. Piper just wanted to disable him, not kill him, which would mean somehow ridding him of that blue energy. And the only way Piper knew to do that was to take it into herself.

The advancing enemy fired off two more shots before he came in range of hand-to-hand combat. This was where Piper needed to make her move. At the first touch, she attempted to absorb the tremendous amount of potentially harmful energy.

**And everything went** **blue.**

* * *

**Sorry, cliffhangar! Please don't hate me!**

**I will not be able to update as quickly as I use to because school has started again and my teachers believe I don't have enough free time. Sorry, but I will type AFAP (As Fast As Possible)**

**Thanks to all who followed, and favorited, but geuss what? No one reviewed...at all! Please review! You make me so happy when you do and I want more! I'm a greedy little sucker!**

**This time, I am promoting '_Blind Spots'_ by aporia99! It is awesome, read it right after you review for this story, kay?**

**Cool Quote: If life gives you lemons, play Fruit Ninja.**

**Piperijanayalex, out!**


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